A week at the cabin

"Whoever said it was a good idea to come here should no longer have a say on family vacations", I said as I sat on the sofa near the fireplace. Frozen. Probably not literally frozen but I felt like it. I never felt so cold in my entire life. I would have checked my mobile to see how cold it was outside, but there was no phone service or internet. Of course. Of course, they would take me somewhere that didn't have mobile service.

"Mum and I thought it would be a good idea to get away from the city. Away from the drama of everything for Christmas.", Dad said as he walked back into the living room. "It has been a very long time since we really were a family--really acted like a family rather than being glued to our mobiles. And you are going away to university soon, so we won't see you as often anymore."

"You thought going to some cabin in the middle of nowhere was a good idea? Couldn't we have gone to one of the resorts with WIFI and...you know, electricity. . Or, go somewhere that has nice, tropical weather? I would have loved to go to Bali. I heard it is great." I said that with a bit of venom in my voice.

Who do they think they are to take me away from civilisation and my friends to some remote cabin in the middle of nowhere? I bet what they are doing is illegal--taking me away against my will and away from electricity, heating, WIFI, and the essential thing--social media. 

Mum interrupted my internal dialogue to give her usual psychiatrist spiel about something I was doing wrong or something that I should start doing for some practical reason. Always with the lectures. I thought she would have learned by now that every time she tells me that I shouldn't do something, I want to do it even more. Nothing can stop me when I am determined. And I am very keen to leave this horrible cabin.

"Emily, darling, we talked about this. You and your friends have been acting out, and you are out of control. You have gotten in trouble several times over the last few months. I don't like the people you are spending time around lately. They are a horrible influence. Spending time away from your phone and away from social media will be healthy for you. A digital detox will do you heaps of good." 

"If I can't watch TV or go on social media, what am I suppose to do for the next week?" I said, challenging her. 

When I was little, Dad and I always played chess. I haven't played in years, but he was still my perfect opponent, ready for my next move. And as always, Dad was ready for my response and replied instantly. "You know, when your mother and I were younger we didn't have television--well, we did but only a few channels. But we never watched it--"

"So, how did you entertain yourselves? Did you stare at a wall all day because that sounds super fascinating?" 

"Emily, don't be smart", Mum scolded. "When we were kids, we went outside. We talked to people--in person. Not this online texting rubbish that you kids do these days. We found things to do, and we were never bored. There's a storm passing through for the next day or so, but we can go into town and ski once it is over. And if that isn't enough for you, you can pick up a thing that binds several pages together, and the pages are covered in words called a book. You might be amazed at how much fun reading can be". 

In case you were wondering, I don't do much the first few days in the cabin. I decided that if I protested by staying in my room, my parents would take me out of my misery and fly us back home. However, this plan completely backfired.

After the conversation I had with the parents earlier, I walked out of the living room without saying a word, and went into one of the bedrooms. For any people reading this, do not leave the warmth of the fireplace to sit in a cold room by yourself if you are ever in this situation. Because doing that just spited me and I was frozen again—all of the progress of warming up my body by the fireplace was for nothing. I was so stupid for doing this, but I didn't want my parents to win this "fight". I stayed in my room for about thirty minutes until I had enough. Until I felt like I was a human icicle. 

I walked out of the room to find my parents. Mum and Dad were sitting in the same place where I left them in the living room, sitting cozily by the fire reading their books. I'm not sure if they purposefully ignored me or didn't notice that I walked into the room until I cleared my throat.

"Um, Dad, can you start the fire in my room? I am absolutely frozen--"

Mum lowered her book, but Dad looked over the top of it, trying his best to hide his smirk. "My darling daughter, why don't you sit out here with us? We already have a nice and toasty fire going. It will take ages for me to bring in firewood and start the fire for you. And, then it will take a while until the room feels warm. I think it will be best if you sit out here with us."

"Or, you can start the fire early, and then you don't have to do it tonight before you go to bed because I will know how to do it. And I won't have to ask you again. It's a win-win situation if we do this now." I quickly retorted. 

"My daughter--always having a witty retort on the tip of her tongue. Maybe you should think about becoming a barrister since you like to argue so much." Dad said. He lowered his book to give me a look-- a challenge to what he just said. 

Mum and dad have been saying I should be a barrister for years since I always argued with them when I think I am right. I've always been this way. But it's not my fault, really. I was taught to stand up for my beliefs, and I am standing up for what I believe in--that I am right and they are not. Honestly, I probably would be good at being a barrister, but that is not where my heart lies. I want to be an actor and tell stories that will change the world. I want to make people think about things differently. I want to entertain people and allow them to escape from their realities for a short while. I think Dad suggests that I should be a barrister at every chance he gets so he can annoy me or "help" me realise my true potential or something.

In the end, Dad created a fire to heat my room because I kept interrupting them as they read their books. Just kept asking nonsense questions or saying random things to prevent them from reading their books. I know, I was a jerk to them, but I had no interest sitting out with them. And at first, I thought I won the challenge and got what I wanted, but it was incredibly lonely and boring to sit in a room by myself doing nothing. I stayed in my room for almost the first two days except for leaving for meals. I pretty much slept nearly half the time I was in my room. But there was only so much sleeping and staring at the photos in my camera roll that a person can do. Eventually, I had to brave the world and leave the room.

I walked out of my room and followed the voices into the kitchen. Dad and Mum were making lunch together. I felt like I stumbled onto a magical scene. The room was beautifully lit with random lanterns and torches placed around the kitchen. Mum and Dad were talking to each other, smiling and laughing. They moved around each other like they were doing a little dance that only they knew. I don't remember them being so happy, but I don't pay much attention to them when we are home. Maybe they are always like this, but I never realised. 

"Ready for some lunch, Emily. Come join us." Dad said a few moments after I walked into the kitchen.

Maybe it is because I felt like I intruded on a magical moment and it would be rude to disturb it and walk away, or it occurred to me how much I will miss them next year, but I said "yes".

As I sat down at the table, Dad placed a warm bowl of pasta with meat sauce topped with grated cheese in front of me. I looked up at him, confused. "How did you make this if we don't have any electricity?" I asked.

Mum and Dad smiled and chuckled like they did when I was a kid if I said something "cute". 

Mum answered me sweetly when they both sat down at the wooden kitchen table. "We cooked it on the gas stove. You don't need electricity for that, my silly Em. How do you think we have been making food since we got here?"

I felt like I stumbled into another family's house during that lunch. We spoke to each other and laughed. It was one of the best times we had during the entire trip, probably one of my favourite memories ever. They teased me for not realising how they were cooking the food at the cabin. We reminisced on fun times during my childhood. Mum teased Dad about little things he did when they were dating, like when he walked into the wall when exiting the cinema. He was trying to be super cool and impress Mum that he didn't realise where he was walking. He tried to play it that he purposefully walked into the wall, but they ended up laughing about it for the rest of their date. 

I'm not sure what possessed me--I must have been crazy or something because I spent the rest of the day with my parents. We ended up playing board games until dinner. And I helped Dad prepare the meal while Mum chatted to us while sitting at the table. She wanted to help us, but I said that I could help Dad instead. Dinner was just as lovely as lunch. Somehow, we found things to talk about and laugh until we migrated back into the living room. We sat around the fire, reading our respective books until we couldn't keep our eyes open much longer.

Once the storm passed and it was safe to leave, we ventured out of the cabin. For the next few days, we would wake up super early and drive about a half-hour to go skiing or walk around town. Some days we would visit the small shops. Other days, we would be on the mountain for hours until we were hungry and ate local restaurants. We would ski for another few hours before heading back to our cabin to make dinner. On the car ride back to the cabin, we would listen to the radio. Dad and Mum would embarrassingly sing along with the music and usually sang the wrong words. My face hurt so much from smiling and laughing at their antics. By the time we would get back to the cabin, we would all make dinner together, still talking and teasing each other. We would then spend the rest of the evening playing board games or reading until we went to bed.

The second to last day at the cabin was Christmas. I felt like a child again as I woke up super early and ran into the living room. Mum and Dad were already there, snuggling on the sofa while sipping drinks. The lights on the tree illuminated the gifts we placed underneath it a few nights ago. I wish I had a camera to photograph this moment.

"Merry Christmas, Emily. Come, and open your presents." Dad said with a smile. 

We all took turns giving each other gifts and thanking the giver for their lovely presents. As a nice treat, I decided to make breakfast for all of us--pancakes and eggs--while Mum and Dad sat in the living room. Mum and Dad were very complimentary as they tasted the pancakes that I made. I thought I did a brilliant job until I tasted my own creations and realised I added way too much salt. Mum ended up remaking the pancakes. 

Although we didn't do much for the rest of the day, it was super relaxing. I guess I didn't realise how tired I was from skiing all week, but it was nice to relax and sit by the fire. 

On our very last day, we decided to head back into town to ski until we were exhausted. We skied for a few hours before we found a restaurant to have lunch. On the way out of the restaurant, I ran into Jessica, one of the girls from my year. She was with a few people that I knew from school that I was sort of friends with.

"Em, is that you? What a coincidence that you are here too!" Jessica said as she pulled me in for a hug. "Do you want to come to hang out with us and ditch the parentals? We were going to hang out at one of the resorts for the day. Sit by the fire, talk, and drink endless amounts of coffee and hot chocolate. How does that sound?"

I suddenly felt Dad's hand on my shoulder; I turned to look at him. "That's fine with me. We don't mind if you want to go with your friends, Em. Just make sure you are back by five o'clock to drive back to the cabin. We have an early day tomorrow." Dad said with a warm smile on his face. Mum's face matched his. Their smiles weren't full, and I think they secretly hoped that I would turn down Jessica's offer.

Maybe I was ill or something because I would have left my parents in a heartbeat if this happened a week earlier. I would have been so grateful that I could escape my parents and hang out with people my age, even if they weren't my favourite people—any excuse to spend time away from my annoying parents. 

"Thanks for the offer, Jess, but I'm going to stay with my parents. But let's hang out soon." 

Jessica looked like I slapped her or said something rude. Few of her friends smirked until she turned and gave them a deadly look. As I turned to walk away, I saw that my parents were thrilled. Proud and slightly shocked that I chose them. They looked like I just won an award for a major accomplishment or something.

As we walked away from Jessica and her friends, Dad said, "You know that you could have gone with them. We wouldn't have minded. You spent the entire week with us--"

"I know, but I don't really like Jessica all that much. And I rather spend the day with you and Mum." I replied as I wrapped my arm around my dad to give him a little cuddle. "This is my last winter before I leave for uni and I want to spend it with you guys."

I'm not sure what reminded me of our first trip to the cabin, but it was a great memory to reminisce right now. I never would have thought that I would cherish those moments for the rest of my life or that it would bring us so much closer together. 

The scene right in front of me was a beautiful blend of my memories of this cabin of our first Christmas here. The cabin looked the same, but the people looked different, and we had a few additions.

I look over my coffee mug to look at my husband sitting across from me, playing with our son. My son named after my father. My toddler that has several of my dad's features--personality and appearance. On the other side of me are my parents, watching my husband and my son play. Maybe when my son is older, I'll tell him the story of when I realised this place was magical.